1855 United States Tycoon

The Hubei New Army’s fighting will was not firm, and after the first attack, Zhang Zhidong was said to be suddenly ill, so he did not re-attack for a few days, but used gunboats and ground artillery to harass it from time to time. . Although this kind of harassment is very annoying, it also has a good effect. After a long time, even the average recruits have gradually adapted a lot, so that they will not be scared and run around as soon as they hear the sound of the bomb explosion.

A few days later, maybe it was Zhang Zhidong's illness or something, and the Hubei New Army launched another offensive. Their offense was organized much better this time than the last. The shelling lasted longer, and the soldiers' will to fight became firmer. Later, according to some people's memories, before this attack, the Hubei New Army offered quite a high reward.

Due to the lack of barbed wire and landmines, coupled with artillery to help out, and the Revolutionary Army did not have many machine guns, the Hubei New Army quickly broke into the trenches of the Revolutionary Army. The key role was when the Hubei New Army felt that it would soon be able to take the position. Under the leadership of Qiu Jin, the death squad of the Revival Society launched a bayonet assault.

In a sense, bayonet assault is the best expression of an army's fighting will. The psychological pressure of hand-to-hand combat is far greater than that of rifle shooting. In the previous wars between Chinese and foreigners, whether it was the first Opium War and the second Opium War, or the recent Sino-Japanese War and the Eight-Power Allied Forces. The Manchu army can often last for a while in a confrontation with a foreign army, and in the face of a bayonet assault, there is hardly any rapid collapse.

The Hubei New Army is much stronger than the average Qing army, but in essence, they are still an army that does not know why. In this era, there is no such thing as a truly loyal army to the Qing Dynasty. The reason why they came to fight the revolutionary army was only because of the above orders, not because they themselves felt they should do it. Such an army, even if it is well-trained, will not have much courage to persist in the battle where the bayonet is popular. What's more, in training, they are not better than the death squad that Qiu Jin leads, and even in terms of assassination technology alone, they are much worse.

Comparing China and Western military thinking in that era, you will often find a very strange thing. Western powers, which are obviously more superior in long-range firepower, pay more attention to hand-to-hand combat than China. Needless to say, the old Maozi who has always believed in "bullet is an idiot, bayonet is a hero", including the British and French forces and other first-line powers, have always attached great importance to bayonet warfare. Even the United States has extensive and in-depth research on bayonet countermeasures, and books on various technologies and tactics are abundant. The soldiers also received quite systematic bayonet warfare training. On the contrary, the Chinese army with weaker firepower often hopes to defeat the enemy by non-contact shooting. Not only does it lack research on bayonet warfare, but it also has almost no training in bayonet warfare. Therefore, once you fight hand-to-hand with the armies of the great powers, even when the morale is high, the exchange ratio is often very sad. This habit even continued to the later National Revolutionary Army. Until the Anti-Japanese War, the National Revolutionary Army, except for the Eighteenth Group Army and the New Fourth Army, basically lacked systematic bayonet warfare training. Even the Northwest Army Broadsword Team, which was the most proficient in hand-to-hand combat, was in bayonet confrontation with the Japanese. , Is also at a significant disadvantage.

However, the death squad of the Liberation Society is an exception. Although their number is only a few dozen, they have all received systematic bayonet warfare training in Heishui, and have conducted many simulated bayonet confrontation exercises, although they are still unable to compete with Heishui’s. Compared with those veterans, no matter whether it is personal skills or teamwork, they are not without training. The soldiers of the Hubei New Army who rely solely on personal on-the-spot performance are much better. As a result, in the bayonet confrontation, the Revolutionary Army, which was arrowed by the Death Squad of the Recovery Association, quickly defeated the new Hubei Army that rushed up and stabilized the situation.

...

"Jingxiong is injured?" Tao Chengzhang who got the telegram was taken aback. The length of the telegram is limited, and I can't say it carefully, but Tao Chengzhang knows that Qiu Jin has a strong temperament. If it is a little bit of a slight injury, I am afraid that it will not be mentioned in the telegram at all. For a long time, in the military aspect of the Revival Society, the main persons in charge were Qiu Jin and Xu Xilin. Now if Qiu Jin is seriously injured, Anqing's battle may be a lot of trouble.

"Where are the people who protect the umbrella?" Tao Chengzhang asked. According to the contract they signed with the Umbrella Company, a 75-infantry artillery squad of the Umbrella Company and about one company of infantry were first. Arrive to Anqing as quickly as possible.

"The Hubei New Army’s naval gun blocked the river for a long period of time, so they landed ashore in Zongyang yesterday, and then changed boats to pass over the Baitu Lake in the Caizi Lake. Calculating the time, it probably means that Houtian will be able to arrive. "Fan Ainong replied.

"This time Jingxiong has repelled the Hubei New Army and should be able to support it for a while. Then when the advance team to protect the umbrella arrives, it should be able to stabilize the situation." Tao Chengzhang thought.

...

"The Hubei New Army failed in the offensive?" Yuan Shikai showed some surprises on his face. Although he is not in direct control of Beiyang now, he is still very concerned about the current situation. In his original expectation, although the Hubei New Army was not enough to change the whole situation, it was not a problem to win Anqing. Because of the level of the Hubei New Army and the level of the Anhui New Army, he still knows it.

However, this is not a bad thing for Yuan Shikai. Yuan Shikai knows that the worse the Hubei New Army is, the more important the Beiyang Army is, and the greater the losses of the Hubei New Army and the Revolutionary Army, the stronger the relative strength of the Beiyang. In today's chaotic situation, whoever has the stronger strength will get a bigger share.

"Zhang Xiangshuai is getting older and can't live for a few years. He is afraid that he is thinking more about the reputation of future generations. But I can't do this with him. If I want to do this with him, I am afraid that the trouble will be even greater. "Yuan Shikai thought so.

The so-called greater chaos is actually simple, that is, the Beiyang Group has actually become an independent interest group. Now this interest group obeys him, not only because he brought the Beiyang Army from a small station, but also because he can safeguard the interests of this group. If he intends to sacrifice the interests of the Beiyang Group for the sake of his so-called reputation, then the direct consequence may be the split of Beiyang. And if China’s strongest military group suddenly splits, then China will immediately enter the same melee as the five generations and ten countries. Under the environment surrounded by the great powers, China will be like this. In Yuan Shikai’s view, it is simply out of control. . Therefore, he cannot do like Zhang Zhidong.

"Tell Zhiquan, don't worry, don't worry. Keep calm." Yuan Shikai said to the adjutant on the side.

...

"I said that the Han people are unreliable!" Zaifeng roared angrily, "Zhang Zhidong's Hubei New Army, known to be well-trained and well-equipped, but stopped under the city of Anqing and couldn't make progress. What the hell is he doing! He also thought... and Beiyang, what did Tieliang eat? He couldn't even move a single soldier! The six towns of Beiyang spent so much money on the court to raise soldiers for a thousand days, but now they don’t even listen. Scheduled? Did they want to rebel? And that Yikui, I really don’t know how much money Yuan Shikai gave him. He actually wrote a letter, saying that in the current situation, Yuan Shikai must be used to lead the troops. Doesn’t he know that now? Let Yuan Shikai take back the military power, then our Qing Dynasty will really be over soon. Even Han people like Zhang Zhidong know that Yuan Shikai must not be allowed to take charge of Beiyang again. He actually speaks for Yuan Shikai again. It is really the Qing Dynasty. What a good minister! And those foreigners who actually want me to re-enable Yuan Shikai one by one, their intentions..."

But even if he was angry, Zai Feng knew that he had nothing to do. The first of the six Beiyang towns are all banner people. It is said that they are obedient and willing to serve for the Qing Dynasty. However, when they heard that they were going to disrupt the party, these banner men actually retreated slowly. In Tieliang's words, the first town is the foundation of the Qing Dynasty and cannot be moved lightly. But Zaifeng knew that Tieliang was actually saying that the first town had no fighting capacity at all, and if it didn’t go on the battlefield, it would still scare people. It’s really going to be on the battlefield. I’m afraid it’s like the donkey of Guizhou. To be eaten up.

"Hey, Daqingguo pills!" The regent of the Qing Dynasty, Zaifeng, couldn't help but sighed like this in his heart.

...

"Are there any changes in the Japanese?" Grey Stone asked Own's military secretary Raimond.

"The Japanese are in contact with some people in Fengtian..." Raimund replied.

"Don't care about the Fengtian side, let the Russians think about the things over there, we can't reach there. I mean, in Shanghai, did they do anything?"

"The Japanese Marine Corps transferred two squadrons from Taiwan to Shanghai, saying that they wanted to protect the diaspora. In addition, they had a lot of contact with people from the Tongmenghui." Raimund replied.

"Watch them first," said Greystone. "Where are the British?"

"The British minister united several ministers from several countries to meet with the regent of the Qing Dynasty and asked him to immediately use Yuan Shikai to quickly restore the stability of the situation in China to ensure the interests of all countries in China. In addition, Sun Wen of the Tongmenghui claimed that he borrowed At 1.5 million U.S. dollars, as the start-up capital of the new Republic of China, I am now preparing to go to Nanjing, China, and hope that the revolutionary parties from all over the country can unite and build the Republic of China."

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